Thank You To The Icon George Perez

During this past weekend the iconic artist George Perez announced his retirement. In a post on his Facebook page, George Perez went over why he is retiring from the world of comic books. While it is sad to hear this there is no doubt that Perez is a legend in the industry, having drawn some of the biggest stories in the industry for Marvel and DC Comics.

One of the quotes that stood out most from his Facebook post was when Perez wrote “I’ve had a wonderfully good run doing exactly what I have wanted to do since I was a child. Now I can sit back and watch the stuff I helped create entertain whole new generations. That’s a pretty nice legacy to look back on.”

Those words speak to how much of a legend Perez is in the comic book industry. Just going online on both his Facebook post and on Twitter you’ll see how respected he is by everyone. His work not only awed fans but inspired so many to try to do their part to add to the comic book worlds he was drawing.

Personally as a fan I credit Perez for introducing me to the DC Universe. When it comes to DC Comics I started with reading Batman comics thanks to the animated series. For the first year of my comic book reading life I mostly stayed in that world. It wasn’t until I picked up a random issue of Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s incredible New Teen Titans run that I got introduced to the greater DCU.

What stood out the most from that issue as a kid was how iconic every inch of the comic book looked. Even as a young kid I felt like Perez’s version of Robin, Donna Troy, Kid Flash and Cyborg were the iconic versions of them. Reading those Teen Titans comics showed me that DC was more than just Batman and Superman that the cartoons were showing me. There was this entire other universe with a wide array of characters that looked as great and interesting as Batman and Superman.

That is a trend that went for all of Perez’s work. When looking at characters from Batman to Wonder Woman to Deathstroke, the artwork that I picture most is Perez’s. There was a certain magic that Perez’s style has that makes every character he drew feel like the definitive version of them. It didn’t matter what kind of character they were they all came across as iconic.

And when it comes to big event artwork Perez is the artist that everyone gets judge by. His work on Crisis On Infinite Earth and JLA/Avengers are clear examples of how to draw big events. Not only was Perez’s work consistent but each and every page is filled with the proper amount of detail and care each character deserved. It did not matter how big or small the characters were who got involved in these events. Perez made sure every character in the DC and Marvel Universes looked fantastic.

While we may not get to see Perez draw a new comic book his legend will continue to live on in all of his work. After how much hard work he put into making every comic book he drew to look fantastic Perez has more than earned his status as one of the all-time greats in the comic book industry. As a fan I thank Perez for all the incredible contributions he has made to the industry. I hope Perez is able to enjoy a long, happy retirement that is well earned.